


Tuckered Out

by ThatPeskyAloe



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Cultural Differences, Aliens, Background Relationships, Bodyguard, Businessmen, Carrying, Catching Up, Chance Meetings, Conversations, Except it's an AU where things go less shittily, Implied Katagwa Jr/Rhys, Implied Zer0/Zane Flynt, Late Night Conversations, Other, Pets, Post-Canon, Reminiscing, Robots, Sleepiness, Slice of Life, Storytelling, Surprise! I'm a sucker for happy ending(ish) AUs, Talking, Walk & Talk, meetings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:34:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22484221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatPeskyAloe/pseuds/ThatPeskyAloe
Summary: In a similar way that you might learn something knew and then notice it everywhere, Zer0 finds themselves thinking of the newer vault hunters and meeting with them. The way that the events leading to said meeting unfolded, however, couldn't have been more tiring.
Relationships: FL4K & Zane Flynt, Katagawa Jr./Rhys (Borderlands), Zer0 & FL4K, Zer0 & Zane Flynt
Comments: 5
Kudos: 52





	Tuckered Out

Atlas HQ was quiet today. People milled about sparsely or in groups all around doing their work, deliveries, repairs and the like under the warm Promethian sun, but nothing of particular note was going on. It was a pleasant break from the usual hustle and bustle of the complex, and Zer0 intended to enjoy it while they had the free time to do so.

Rebuilding from the damage sustained in the short-lived war with Maliwan was in full swing by now and were set to be done sometime in the next few months to a year with any luck. By bringing things to a peaceful-ish conclusion at the last moment, it seemed that Rhys had minimised the damage as much as he could at that stage, once things were as far gone as they were. It was quite admirable that he'd been able to negotiate at all at that stage, and the conditions he'd set up for their agreement to work with Maliwan just a bit without actually merging had seemed to satiate them both for the time being; it gave Maliwan the idea that they might get more by working with them rather than trying to take by force and a false sense of winning when it was really Atlas who had drawn the long straw. It was surprising how quickly things had grown quiet after that, with the vault hunters leaving to go do whatever it was they were going to do next. Zer0 never asked, but might have gone with them were they not busy with his Atlas contract. They missed that business a little, but they found that he'd settled nicely into the Atlas gig. And who knew how Rhys would fare without them?

So they stayed and kept watch over Rhys and Atlas. They had done plenty of Vault hunting in the past- they could leave it to the new wave of Vault hunters to find them.

That Katagawa still bothered Rhys plenty- that hadn't changed, he'd been at it the moment he'd recovered. Though it was now less murderous and more... sort of pathetic. Zer0 had watched over many a meeting and had to stop themself from laughing when Katagawa's proposals for different conditions kept getting shot down, much like his invitations for coffee after every meeting. He was just so obviously trying hard to get Rhys to like him even after everything that it was hard not to pity him a bit.

They'd been wondering in recent days how the Vault hunters had fared. They all seemed capable enough, amicable, pleasant even. Sometimes. Amara intimidated them a little with her enthusiasm for fighting and superior attitude, and Moze impressed them a great deal with her impressive arsenal- though she never seemed to like them much. Zane had been hard _not_ to like with such ridiculous charm and charisma... he could have talked him into a lot of things if he wanted to, and had charmed him into his company on several nights. Fl4k in particular intrigued them a great deal, but he never had the chance to talk to they properly. They wished they had, though. Zer0 might not have cheered like Rhys did when they received word that the Vault hunters succeeded in their task, but they was glad for them. It had sounded as though they had all made it through as well. They were going to ask if they would be returning at any point, but Rhys had run off excitedly before they could. So that had been left to speculation as they rushed to catch up.

They had gotten wrapped up in their thoughts once again while walking through the Atlas HQ, strolling during their free time but also patrolling. They didn't like to call it wandering or anything like that- it felt too much like slacking off. They hadn't heard much regarding the Vault hunters in a while, and couldn't help but wonder how they were doing. The assassin wasn't so caught up that they didn't notice a creature snuffling around at the path in front of them, but was a little surprised to see it when he turned the corner. Even more surprised to not be attacked immediately.

Was that... A skag?

Zer0 looked again as the creature sniffed about, head bowed to the ground and seemingly not hostile. How strange- not only that, but it wore a collar with a leash dangling from it, trailing along the ground. The beast looked oddly familiar as well... It trotted over slowly and sat down at his feet, whining. Was it lost? They knelt down slowly, cautiously extending a lithe hand and examining the tag dangling from the collar, smeared his grime but readable.

> Mr. Chew  
>  If lost, return to FL4K

The skag circled around him, near tangling the leash around his legs and let out a sound like a warbled bark. Zer0 soon realised why they had found the thing so familiar- It was one of FL4K's pets. And f one of their pets were here, it would be doubtless that FL4K (and possibly others from their group) must have returned to Promethea. And they couldn't be too far away, surely... It wouldn't be like FL4K to willingly allow one of their pets to wander out of sight, so this must have been a mishap. They couldn't very well just leave the skag to roam about and end up being shot by a careless Atlas worker- at least, not with a clean conscience. So there was only one thing to do: They bent down to pick the leash up, first looping it around a thin wrist before taking it in hand. Mr. Chew barked again and immediately began sniffing the ground again and walking briskly in a seemingly random direction across a grassy patch, leading the assassin along. It felt a bit more like they were being taken for a walk than the other way around...

They had tried to keep the skag on the path as they walked along with it, but found it fruitless- the creature went wherever it felt like and Zer0's not so powerful frame was powerless to stop it. Occasionally they would have to dig their heels in to have the creature stop while they asked someone if they had seen FL4K, which was beginning to seem as fruitless as trying to get the skag to walk in a straight line. The odd looks they were getting by wandering around with a skag on a leash were amusing at least, but even that was wearing thin.

They had been asking another clueless soul if they had seen the Beastmaster when Mr. Chew seemed to get excited all of a sudden. After a few moments of snuffling about it perked up and immediately tugged harshly on the leash, almost throwing the Assassin to the ground as it took off and they had to follow. Holding the leash was throwing off their stride so they, not wanting to be dragged along if they fell behind because of that, let the leash slip from around their wrist. They kept up the pace through, just a few paces behind the skag as it disappeared behind some large, metal crates. They rounded the corner just in time to see someone get bowled over by the thing and subjected to an enumeration of licks to the face. Maybe he should have held onto the leash. The figure below didn't seem distressed- in fact, a look at his face not only allowed them to recognise him but also to see that he looked positively delighted.

"Mr. Chew!" He grinned, petting the skag as though it were just a regular, excited dog. A very large, excited dog actually. "Aw, lookit you! What's up, huh?" He looked up and raised an eyebrow, probably confused as to why he didn't see FL4K. "Where's yer daddy? Huh?"

The skag leaped off the man and ran circles around Zer0, barking. Zer0 raised a hand in greeting. Probably best not to say he'd been let off the leash on purpose.

"Ey, if it isn't tall dark n' awesome!"

Zer0 nodded, a ":)" popping up on their helmet. "Zane."

Zane wiped a line of slobber from his face as he stood up, soon crouching again to pet the skag running around between the two of them like it couldn't decide who to pester more. Zane reached a hand over to Zer0 for a shake. "How've you been, Zer0? Feels like it's been ages!"

Zer0 took the offered hand and it was given a pleasant shake, Zane clasping it firmly with a warm hand. "A pleasant surprise/ to see you here once again./ All has been well, here."

"Good ta hear, good ta hear..." Zane smiled, looking down at the Skag that was pawing at Zer0's leg, looking for attention. "S'FL4K not wit ye?"

"I have not seen them/ I was going to ask you/ are they not with you?" They asked, getting a hold of Mr. Chew's leash once again. He didn't want it to run off. "This is their pet, yes?/ I need to return it soon/ I have work to do..."

They didn't actually have much work to be doing- this was a more or less free day for them. But they didn't want to make it seem like they were being lazy, even if keeping the creature currently tethered to them under control was anything but restful. Zane stood up again, back cracking audibly yet seeming unphased.

"I was lookin' for 'em meself... Echoed me not lang ago, sayin' they'd found a grenade mod that wis up my alley." He said with a slight frown. "Never telt me where to find 'em, though. Kinda typical FL4K behavior. Could go searchin' together, at least! Two pairs o' eyes 'll be better than one. Or could be more- dunno how many ye got under that mask o' yours."

Zer0 simply nodded in agreement. It would indeed be more efficient to look with more people, and the Operative made for good company. He was nice enough to take the leash from them for a while as well and to be frank, it was almost embarrassing to see how much of a difference his larger frame seemed to make when it came to steering Mr. Chew away from places it wasn't supposed to go. And he was an excellent conversation partner.

"So I telt her- Moze, I mean- to pet the turret awa until we needed it again, save bullets 'n all. And ya ken what she did then?"

"What?"

"She points the blimmin' thing at me! Near enough got turned to swiss cheese, I did. Dinnae ken what I did ta upset her so much, but there ya go. She's a scary lass, that one."

Zer0 nodded an agreement. She had certainly made it a point to show off her firepower when they had met before, and something about that insistence sent them a very clear message of "don't mess with me.".

The topics flowed freely from what went on after they lost touch to how rebuilding Atlas was going to wondering what the hell the collar on that skag was made of- whatever it was, it sure was durable. At some point the Operative had slung an arm around Zer0's skinny shoulders while he spun his tales, jostling him when he laughed, and Zer0 didn't shrug it off. They were quite enjoying listening to his probably slightly exaggerated tales of adventure, and the occasional squeeze around their shoulders actually seemed to get them more invested. Eventually, Zane seemed to run out of tales and was probably tired of having his gesturing cut short by the leash around his free hand.

"Ay, could ya hold the leash for a sec? Gonna check me Echo 'n see if I haven't heard from FL4K."

Zer0 of course nodded and took the leash from his hand. And it was just Zer0's luck to blame, as that was when the skag smelled something again and yanked on the leash with a loud and enthusiastic bark, pulling them from Zane's hold as they were dragged along again. Zer0 somehow sensed that even Zane's larger frame would have been no match for the beast's excitement. Zane laughed and gave chase, apparently finding it a lot more fun than Zer0, who found themselves nearly tripping and being pulled around a corner shortly before unceremoniously knocking right into someone. The leash in their hand slipped free as they stumbled backward, disoriented, before being caught under the armpits by who they could only assume was Zane from the way he laughed. He must have kept pace better than they thought he would. Embarrassed, they had to keep themselves from leaning too heavily back against his chest.

Honestly, they really needed to stop letting themselves get so lax on their days off. On a good day, they would have let go of the leash before that could have happened. As Zane pulled him up to his feet and jokingly dusted him off, skimming his palms over their sides and giving their leg a pat, they noticed just who they had bumped into.

Zane would later inform Zer0 that FL4K _had_ apologised for bumping into them, and he was just too dazed from running into their sturdy frame to notice. He'd also tell them that they had made an ":o" face and that it was adorable. In terms of what they knew at that moment, by the time Zer0 had firmly regained their balance and dignified posture FL4K was kneeling on the ground and basically cuddling the skag that had all but leaped into his arms.

They couldn't make out a great deal over Mr. Chew's excited barking, but they were fairly certain FL4K was cooing over the thing. They would admit taking care of the thing for a short while had been entertaining, but they were glad to pass the torch back over to FL4K. They were no Beastmaster themselves after all; it was best left to a real one.

"Aw, lookit 'im!" Zane had joined the cooing, it seemed. Zer0 didn't have much of a desire to be slobbered on, so stayed at a safe distance. "He missed his daddy!"

"He did miss me. Didn't you, boy?" The Beastmaster scooped the skag up as though it weighed nothing, holding it into their chest. "And I missed him. You both have my thanks for returning him- the hunt wouldn't be the same without him."

"Eh, it's Zer0 ya aughtta be thankin!" Zane jabbed a thumb at Zer0 over his shoulder, who stood up a little straighter as they realised that they were done fawning. "I jus' tagged along."

The Beastmaster turned their attention to Zer0, arms still full of skag. "In that case, you have my thanks. I was worried for him."

"You needn't thank me/ I didn't do very much/ save for being dragged."

FL4k bent down to place the skag down on the ground again, which rubbed up against their leg as they picked up the sturdy leash for themselves. Zer0 was sure they would have a bruise around their wrist from that simple strip of thick, worn leather.

"I was talking, and when I looked back he'd disappeared." FL4K shook their head disapprovingly at Mr. Chew as they explained. "He's a fickle one. Never sits still when I want him to."

"Never mind sitting/ I couldn't even manage/ to slow him a bit."

"Ha, yeah. Right bundle of energy, this one!"

"Indeed. It's valuable in the hunt, but not so much here."

FL4K crouched down to pet the skag again, eye closing a little in a pleased way. They soon straightened back up though, making sure they were holding the leash securely. There would be no slipping away for Mr. Chew this time, it would seem.

"Now that he has returned, I believe we have a walk to finish." The skag barked and tugged on the leash at the mere use of the word walk, so enthusiastic it even made FL4K sway a bit. Zer0 could assume that would probably assume that would pop their own shoulder out of its socket. "You're both welcome to join us."

"Aye!" Zane was quick to take up a place to walk next to FL4K. "I'm all warmed up anyway, might as well."

"That would be pleasant./" Zer0 was glad to have that chance to learn a bit more about FL4K. They were interesting, after all. So very ruthless, but caring to a select few. They would like to make their way into that few, if at all possible. "So long as I don't have to/ hold the leash again."

"It is decided, then." FL4K turned to walk, making a 'follow me' gesture with their free hand. "Walk with me."

Zer0 seemingly had drawn the short straw, here- as they walked, he was seemingly the one that had ended up designated to hang behind the front pair as they did most of the talking. It felt a little awkward to pitch into the conversation from such an angle, not that they were unhappy with arrangements enough to speak up. Zane seemed to notice though, looking over his shoulder at them.

"Aw, feels kinda like we're excludin' ya here." he half chuckled, taking a step away from FL4K. "Come on up 'tween us, boyo."

Zer0 hesitated slightly but soon enough nodded and stepped forward when patted on the back encouragingly, now sandwiched between the two of them. Zane grinned and put an arm around them again in a similar manner to earlier, which they more or less expected. They didn't expect, however, for FL4K to give them both a curious look before putting their free arm around Zer0 as well. It felt a bit like they were being chaperoned. But not in a bad way. From here they could be a part of the conversation better, and the comfortable feeling that came from the arms on their shoulders was a nice bonus.

With an added person, the conversation seemed even more interesting. It was surprisingly easy to get FL4K talking freely, though mostly about their pets. As Zer0 had already heard a lot of tales from Zane earlier, they managed to get FL4K to tell their fair share, again mostly concerning their pets. They clearly cared for them a great deal... it was heartwarming. Not many people, or robots, in that line of work had that much love for anything other than money and guns- which were valid, but less heartwarming. Zane pitched in with a story about a dog he had when he was young stealing underwear after FL4K told one about their spiderant stealing a bottle of something from Moxxi's bar. Zer0 didn't have any personal pet stories but did manage to contribute one Mordecai had told him about Talon chasing tumbleweeds.

"Apparently it/ was hard to untangle her/ from all of that mess." They said with a shrug. "But she also looked/ positively delighted/ with herself for it."

"Perhaps she thought it would make for a portable nest." FL4K suggested and chuckled.

"Aye! Like wanderin' around wrapped up in a blanket when it's chilly, right?"

Both non-humans gave Zane a questioning look. He returned an exasperated one, raising his free arm in disbelief.

"Yer tellin' me you've never just sorta... cocooned yerself? Never?"

"That would likely block my fans."

"The idea never/ occurred to me before now/ Perhaps I'll try it."

Once they came upon an open green, FL4K let go of Zer0 to lean down and let Mr. Chew off of it’s leash, after giving it very clear instructions not to stray from the area. It bounded off in chase of a ball that they threw and proceeded to run around as though it was playing football for a short while before returning it to their outstretched hand. Zane had already sat down on the nearest bench with Zer0 in tow, who perched on the back of it rather than sitting properly. The two kept talking while FL4K played with their pet, only stopping to watch as the beastmaster got the skag to do tricks.

"Lil' beast only does that for FL4K," Zane commented as Mr. Chew shook FL4K's hand. "Never bothers when I try it- jus' walks on by."

"FL4K's pets are loyal/" Zer0 agreed. "And they are dedicated/ a great deal to them. It's admirable/ I never thought skags could shake/ Until I met them."

"Yeah, they're normally so vicious, y'know? Musta raised the li’l guy from a puppy ta have it trust 'em so much. Hey, FL4K?"

FL4K tossed the ball a long distance as they looked up, and walked to the bench and sat. "Yes?"

"How old was the li’l guy when you got 'im? Actually, how _did_ ya get 'im?"

FL4K looked thoughtful for a moment, clearly enjoying the memory. "He was just a pup. I believe his mother must have lost him. He couldn't have met any adventurers before either- he ran straight up to me without fear."

"An' the rest is history, eh?"

"Indeed."

The skag had returned with the ball and dropped it into FL4K's outstretched hand to be thrown again. Zane encouraged them to tell them how they met their other pets and they were all too happy to tell as they occasionally tossed the ball, sometimes passing it to Zane or Zer0 to throw. Zane stood up each time and threw enthusiastically, Zer0 not so eager to get skag slobber on their hand but accepting anyway. Slowly the skag seemed to tire, eventually settling on the ground at FL4K's feet after depositing the ball in their hand. Zane chuckled, reaching down to give it a pet.

"Awe, he's all tuckered out..."

"He was dragging you both around for quite a while."

"Do not remind me/ I was hardly walking him/ he was walking me."

The sound of FL4K laughing was odd, synthesised and almost static-like, but not unpleasant. Zer0 was distracted from it by Zane giving them a pat on the back that put them off-kilter and had their feet slipping from the back of the bench and landing between the other two vault hunters with a small thump. Zane laughed, giving them a friendly nudge. 

“No surprise- yer tall, but ya don’t have a lot on yer bones. You’re light as a feather, I’d bet!”

Zero flashed an unimpressed “(￣ー￣)” on their helmet. “On my home planet/ being lightweight was useful/ we evolved that way.”

“Yeah, I getcha. Alien stuff, like… whazzat thing that birds have that makes em lighter?”

“Hollow bones?” FL4K offered. 

“Aye, that’s it!”

“We have bones like that/” Zer0 said. “Not to quite the same extent/ but it’s similar.”

“Wait, what? Really?”

The next part of the conversation was largely dominated by questions about alien biology. Zer0 sighed and did as best they could to answer, but was eventually able to divert the conversation to animals instead. They sat back, noting that it was getting to evening. They had all been chatting away for quite a while, and between that and being dragged around for so long earlier, they had become quite tired… They leaned against FL4K a little, finding the layers made it quite comfortable, and the conversation the other two were having faded to white noise as they fell asleep there between them, a “zzZ” fading in and out on their helmet. 

It was quite some time before the still conscious pair realised that they had fallen asleep there, in fact, they had only actually noticed when Zane turned to ask Zer0 a question and spotted the “zzZ” on their face. He chuckled slightly as he realised, and looked up at FL4K. 

“Looks like Mr. Chew ain’t the only one all tuckered out, huh?”

“It would seem that way… speaking of which, it _is_ getting late.” FL4K looked down at Zer0. “I get the feeling that they wouldn’t appreciate being woken up.”

“So are you gonna carry ‘em, big guy?” 

Zane stood and stretched, joints audibly popping as he arched his spine and reached his arms out in front of him. FL4K gestured to the skag still curled at his feet, letting out gravelly little snores. 

“I have this little one to carry. Can you carry them?”

Zane made a show of groaning about it, before chuckling and leaning over the slim figure curled into FL4K’s side. A little maneuvering and a little effort soon had the assassin in his arms in a backward piggyback without even making them mumble in their sleep.

“Upsy daisy...” He huffed, shifting a bit to make carrying Zer0 a bit more comfortable. “Damn, they really are light as anythin.”

FL4K stood and only briefly leaned down to gather the skag up in their arms, met with no resistance as it was fast asleep. Both aliens were in respective arms now, showing no signs of stirring anytime soon. Especially Mr. Chew. 

“Where d’ya suppose I should take ‘em?” Zane asked, hushed so he didn’t wake his respective alien. 

“You know where their quarters are, don’t you?” FL4K said. Zane grinned. 

“Yup. Don’t have a key, though.” He shrugged as best he could given the position. “Guess the next best is my own, huh?”

“You’ll have some explaining to do come morning.”

“Nothing I haven’t done afore.”

They walked beside one another for some time, still talking but in hushed voices to not wake the ones bundled up in their arms. It was remarkable how a change in lighting could make a whole place look different; bathed in the rich orange of the Promethian sunset, Atlas HQ looked a lot more inviting. Not that it looked nasty or anything in the daylight, but the warmth of the light gave it a certain homely quality that you wouldn’t expect from the corporate nature of the grounds. Neither were really looking, though. It eventually came to the point where Zane and FL4K had to split up- Zane was staying within the Atlas HQ itself, whereas FL4K had gotten a bigger room in the city itself for the time being so they could have all their pets around, who were probably getting cranky that their owner had taken so long on just taking Mr. Chew for a walk. 

“This will be where we part ways for the time being,” FL4K said, adjusting their hold on the loudly snoring skag in their arms. “It was an evening in good company- both of you.”

“Aw, no need tae butter me up boyo. Was nice to be doing something with ya other than crackin’ heads.”

Even without a mouth, the way FL4K’s eye narrowed suggested a smile. “Tell Zer0 that when they wake as well. I’ll be seeing you.”

“Aye, ah will. Have a good ‘un.” 

Zane watched their back retreating for a minute before turning to head back the way they both came, remembering that the block he was staying in was actually a few hundred meters back- they’d overshot slightly. The night lights along the path started to flicker to life as he walked, and he felt Zer0 move only slightly to press the cool, smooth material of his mask into his neck. It wasn’t too cold, though. He didn’t feel a great deal like sleeping, brimming with energy yet surprisingly chilled out, so he decided then before he got to his room that Zer0 would be taking the bed while he stayed up and saw if there was anything interesting on the Echowaves at this time of night. 

As for the time being, if someone saw him carting the assassin off to his room… He supposed he’d just tell them the truth; that they were all tuckered out.

**Author's Note:**

> in which I probably royally fuck up writing an accent.
> 
> This was super fun, even for a weird idea my brain just spat out while listening to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIoQMVTxyd4 
> 
> Zane wasn't even originally gonna be in this, I just happened to remember he existed a few hundred words in and immediately had to include the glorious bastard. Did I mention I'm weak for a good accent? i can only hope I did it justice, haha. 
> 
> In other news, they may actually be one of the longest things I've posted on here...


End file.
